Drinks And Distractions // Harper And Ava

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safiyeece​:

Safiye smiled when Harper swiped her drink. The faux innocent look on her face was unnecessary, they always did this. It was a little way of sharing their lives with each other. Even though they both had their secrets, they always sampled each other’s drinks. 

Safiye swirled her drink around its glass as she listened to Harper. She was glad Harper had decided to celebrate her birthday, even in a small way. After all of her losses and hard work, Harper deserved to celebrate herself however she saw fit. “I’m happy for you. I know it’s a hard time of year, but I’m glad that’s not stopping you from doing a little something. Let me know if you want any company.” 

It was the sort of thing Safiye said often, but usually it was done out of courtesy, because it was the proper thing to say. She rarely meant it, but this time she did. Safiye valued her solitude, treasured the rare moments by herself that she was able to steal from her two competing lives, but she was willing to sacrifice for Harper’s sake. Particularly on a historically hard day, Safiye wanted to be there for her friend, if she was wanted.

When Harper talked about keeping her expectations low, Safiye took a long sip of her drink. “That’s true,” she finally admitted. There wasn’t much else she could say on the subject. It was the most fundamental difference between the two young women. Harper was an expert at managing her expectations, Safiye was not. She wasn’t sure if it was because she couldn’t or because she refused to, but either way Safiye never kept her expectations low. It meant she lived in a constant well of disappointment, true, but for Safiye there was no alternative. She wanted more from her life, she expected more from her life, even though it was not reasonable to do so.

-

That was one of the things Harper admired about Saf. Unlike her own pessimistic— or realistic, as she insisted to herself—outlook, Safiye always had dreams and expectations in high places. Harper knew all too well that this sometimes led to dashed hopes and disappointments for her friend, but it never had and never would deter her being there to support her. While never to the same extent as Safiye, in the past Harper had once allowed herself more optimism. But that felt not only like it was ages ago, but like it was a version of herself that was no longer.

“Some company would probably be nice, whether it’s for brunch, shopping, or back at one of my places at night. Whatever works with your schedule and however the day goes, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” Harper, in turn, sipped her drink, eyeing the nearby plate of biscuits.

“I can’t believe it’s really been five years,” she started, “Since graduation, since… everything” she gestured at the hotel room around her, knowing Safiye would catch her drift. “Sometimes I feel like this is just stalling… waiting for something to happen and for real life to begin,” she reflected, “I just don’t know what” She looked at the other woman and chuckled a bit. “Maybe it’s like one of your romance novels. I just need to meet the one” Harper teased, over-emphasizing the last two words, “and it will all fall into place.” She was joking, but couldn’t help but wonder if maybe there was some yearning behind it.

“Well, what would happen next in one of those books?” she asked, taking another sip of her drink, before finally giving in and reaching over to the plate. “After all, you’re the expert” Harper finished, nibbling on the biscuit she’d grabbed.

Aesthetic - Cancer Sun, Capricorn Moon, Virgo rising. 

Simon Alexandre-Clement Denis - Study of Clouds with a Sunset near Rome (detail)

Kaya Scodelario Elle Magazine (April 2019)

lilyeliora·:

Lily Evans had always  been an animal person. When she was a child, both young and not so young, she was forever rescuing wounded birds and scrawny tomcats from the  streets of Cokeworth, much to her mother’s chagrin and even at times irritation. She’d loved living at Hogwarts surrounded by everyone’s pets, and one of the happiest days of her life was when she adopted Cheshire. She looked forward to the day that she was no longer living in a cramped apartment and was making enough money to adopt a second cat. Until such a time came, she contented herself to window shopping at Magical Menagerie. 

It was, in fact, one of her favorite pastimes, and what she’d planned to do after work today. She was just planning to stand outside the front window for a little while, and maybe go inside to pet a few cats, when she saw another young woman standing in front of the shop. She seemed quite confused, perhaps as to what she was doing there or maybe what she should be doing. Lily watched with blatant curiosity as the woman seemed to have a silent argument with herself, wondering what it was about and what the outcome was. 

In the end, Lily’s curiosity and her sympathy ganged up on her, and she abandoned her previous plan of window shopping in favor of helping this woman with…whatever  it was she was trying to do. She stepped closer until the other woman noticed her and smiled her best, most friendly, patented Lily Evans smile. “Oh no, you’re fine,” Lily shook her head, rejecting the offered apology. “It’s just, you seem a little at a loss. Is there anything I can do to help?” From anyone else, the question might have come off a little snobbish, or impatient, but Lily had a great talent for seeming just as genuine as she was.

-

Caught off-guard by the young woman’s offer to help, Harper did her best to contort the surprise on her face into a smile (internally kicking herself for how awkward she probably looked in the process). “Oh, I just… I, um, I… think I want to adopt a pet?” she eventually managed to blurt out, “But I don’t have much experience with animals. I mean, I saw them around at Hogwarts of course, played with some cats in the common room, and I recall my cousins had a dog growing up, but I’ve never had one, myself,” she quickly added.

Harper was usually a private person, so she didn’t know why she was explaining all this to an unknown person on the street. Although on second thought, Harper seemed to vaguely recognize the girl from school, despite being unable to put a name to her face. Regardless, there was something about the genuine smile and overall vibe that the woman gave off that told Harper she was an animal person; she was someone who should be adopting and caring for an animal (not you, a voice remarkably like her mother’s echoed in her head). It was probably due, in part, to the few subtle strands of cat hair that Harper observed on the other woman’s clothing, but also just how comfortable she seemed around the pet shop; a stark contrast from Harper’s own anxious energy.

“Is this where you adopted your cat from?” Harper asked, trying to prevent too long of a lull in the conversation and move beyond her clumsy introduction.

“Bergdorf Goodman” 1971

“Powder room” Architectural digest 1977.

ravenclaw✨ intelligent • witty • creative